Alex P. Stirling Lecture

Birmingham-Southern Olympic gold medalist, entrepreneur, and “Dancing with the Stars” champion Shawn Johnson East will talk about “Winning Balance: What I’ve Learned So Far about Love, Faith, and Living Your Dreams,” for the college’s 2018 Alex P. Stirling Lecture.

Since she was a little girl, Johnson East dreamed of competing for the United States in the Olympics. By 2008, when she was named to the U.S. Women’s Olympic Gymnastics Team, she was already a two-time National Champion, and a World AA Champion. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Johnson East helped establish the U.S. as one of the most talented teams in the world, winning the individual gold medal in the balance beam and three silver medals in the individual all-around, floor exercise, and team categories.

In 2009, she was named the 79th Amateur Athletic Union Sullivan Award recipient, one of amateur sports’ most prestigious honors. That same year, she also won season eight of Dancing with the Stars, and earned second place on the all-star show. In 2012, Johnson East published her book, Winning Balance and announced her retirement from competitive gymnastics following a knee injury. In 2014, she competed on the seventh installment of the hit show “Celebrity Apprentice.”

The Stirling Lecture Series is sponsored by the BSC Student Government Association in memory of a Birmingham-Southern student who died of cancer in 1995.